


Wind In Our Sails

by impish_nature



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Family Reunions, Gen, Sea Shanties, Sing alongs, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-20
Updated: 2016-10-20
Packaged: 2018-08-23 15:14:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8332423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/impish_nature/pseuds/impish_nature
Summary: Sea Shanty singalongs! Family reunions after a while apart always lead to the best kind of memories.





	

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Based on @garrulousgibberish mammoth idea of an animation! Can’t wait to see the finished product ♥ Until then I’ll carry on singing the song with you though haha!

“What else? What else?!”

Ford chuckled as he heard Mabel bouncing in her seat as he re-entered the room. Honestly, he turned his back for one minute to check they did in fact have everything they needed and already Stan had been dragged to sit in his old chair, a twin either side of him on the arms.

He smiled brightly, leaning against the doorframe as he watched Stan’s arms move rapidly with his words, a beam of a grin on his face as his eyes shone with the stories he was spinning them. Ford let out a deep happy sigh, the sound somehow bringing a deep relaxation as he heard the kid’s laughter across the small space.

As much as both he and Stan loved their ship, loved their adventures, nothing really beat seeing the twins again.

_We’ve got a home to come back to, always._

Ford couldn’t help the sappy thought as it slipped into his head. The warm knowledge that whenever they came to port near these two they were home again. But this time even more so, the Pines family reuniting under the roof of the Mystery Shack, as ordered by the newest owner.

And so here they were once again, Ford almost wondered if they’d ever left, so seamlessly slipping together as if they’d never been apart. But the tales Stan told were full of the wonders of the open sea, the people they had met along the way and monsters they had fought. He went to hurry over, his latest journal ready in his hand to show Dipper the latest additions he had made when Stan’s story took a turn he hadn’t expected.

Or perhaps he’d just stopped paying attention.

He assumed he had when he realised he didn’t know precisely what Stan was talking about.

“Yeah! You should have seen him! There we were in the middle of this little fishing village, both of us full of energy after a successful haul. He damn near captivated the entire dock!”

“Wait, what-”

Ford blinked, still walking slowly over to them, to stand beside the seat as he was shushed by Mabel, her hand waving frantically. Even Dipper seemed engrossed by the turn of events, leaving Ford absolutely befuddled.

“You’re pulling my leg, Grunkle Stan.”

Stan gasped, hand on his heart. “Me?”

“Don’t play that with me, you’ve told at least one lie while we’ve been sat here.”

“OK, yeah I have- but this isn’t one of them!” Stan huffed good-humouredly, ruffling Mabel’s hair as he pulled her into a hug. His eyes locked on Ford though, toothy grin visible above Mabel’s head. “We got a bit merry, heard a fisherman singing a shanty and joined in, the pair of us. Soon enough we’d got a little crowd of people joining in as they finished their work- I guess everyone had had a good catch that day!” His smile turned soft, eyes glazing a bit as he zoned into the memory. “The song ended, everyone looked a bit disappointed and ready to go home but then Sixer started another round! There was a bit of silence for a while, everyone just listening to him-” Stan’s grin widened as Ford felt his face go red. “-but the crowd just got bigger and bigger as people started to join back in. One heck of a chorus, that’s for sure. Ended up getting dragged to one of the local pubs. Not very often you get welcomed with open arms into a local’s pub, let me tell you.”

“Where’s your proof?”

Stan dropped Ford’s gaze, blinking at the small girl in his arms. “The what now?”

“Proof! We have to have photographic evidence of these things for scrapbooks, remember?”

Stan opened and closed his mouth a few times, Ford unable to resist the hiccup of laughter at his dumbfounded expression. “Well- I mean- I was working the crowd, sweetie! I had my hands full adding to the atmosphere!”

Dipper laughed, all eyes turning to him. “You mean you were hoping some of them would give you money, right?”

Ford snorted, Stan’s expression going from indignant to slight horror in the blink of an eye.

“Why didn’t I- that would have been a great idea! Sixer, I’m getting old! I actually didn’t see the opportunity of a good money making scheme!” Stan slumped in his chair, dragging Dipper off the side into his lap beside his sister and making his squeak. “What would I do without you two, hey? Nothing, that’s what! This proves it!” Stan turned again to his brother, face mock serious, the smile twitching behind the stubborn expression. “I can’t do anything without these two! Sixer, they must come everywhere with us from now on!”

“Uh-huh.” Ford nodded, hand on his chin in consideration, trying his hardest not to shake with laughter. “Hmm, how would we steal them away without anyone noticing?”

“You can’t steal us away! We have school!” Dipper mumbled from under Stan’s arm, laughing as the hold tightened.

“Who cares? Let’s be adventurers!” Mabel’s eyes brightened, the gleam almost worrying to Ford, knowing that he knew absolutely nothing about what went on in her head. “We can sing shanties together! And sit watching the stars on the boat and-”

Stan couldn’t hold it in, a boom of laughter escaping him as he scooped her up further. “Mabel. You don’t need a ship to those things.”

“I was gonna say we could meet the mermaids again as well.”

“Yeah, well, you are probably the only person who still doesn’t need a ship to do that considering you managed to get letters from a mermaid in a local swimming pool- did you get anymore when you were back home?”

“Yup! Dad wasn’t that impressed.”

Stan opened his mouth to ask before shaking his head fondly. He glanced over at Ford who felt a small amount of trepidation at the look he was being levelled with.

Something told him that Stan’s mind was even harder to read.

“Before you distract me more- I mean, I didn’t get any evidence right?” Stan’s smirk grew as Ford caught on.

“Oh no. _No_ , Stan.”

“No what?” Dipper piped up, sitting up straight as Ford’s hands waved in front of him.

“Come on Ford, you wouldn’t deny the niblings from hearing you sing a good ol’ shanty, now would you?”

“I- I mean-” Ford wavered slightly, his hesitation a hum of nerves as he looked about. It was after all, just them, and Stan was holding Mabel so she couldn’t go grab her camera. There wasn’t much harm in teaching the kids a few songs, not really. He looked over at Stan, biting his lip. “Only if you join in.”

“Of course! Wouldn’t leave you high and dry, Sixer.”

“This is brilliant! I can’t wait to tell everyone we’re going to have a sing along at the Mystery Shack!”

Stan and Ford blinked, turning to see Soos in the doorway behind them. “Wait, what?” Two voices rang out as one, both older twins glancing between him and the youngsters now excited before them.

“Well, we know Grunkle Ford can sing, Grunkle Stan! But performing for a crowd is a different thing!” Mabel gasped, pulling herself out of Stan’s grasp. “Grenda and Candy can come! I haven’t seen them yet!”

“No, no, no. I’m not- there’s no way it’ll be the same-”

“Don’t worry, Grunkle Ford! Everyone would love it. You’re both still heroes here.” Dipper slid off Stan’s lap, head tilted up at him. “And you’ve done it before. I mean- you’ve fought all kinds of things, this must be easy, right?”

“No- I mean-” All of Ford’s arguments vanished as the twins chattered away, obviously excited by the turn of events. He turned to Stan for help instead, who looked contemplative. “Stan?”

Stan shrugged, smile hesitant as Ford shuffled closer to him to talk quietly. “Hey, I mean it was fun last time, right?”

“I guess…”

“Well, this time should be even better because we know everyone! Think about these two joining in.” He watched as Ford’s face shifted, part intrigued and heartened by that thought but still uneasy.

“I think it’s because we know them all that I’m nervous.”

Stan nudged him, giving him a small wink. “Yeah, well I’ll be right beside you. And if you let me know what song I’ll teach them the chorus beforehand, get the crowd going. It’ll be great, Sixer, I promise. And if you don’t feel like it at any point, we can just stop, no harm done.”

Ford nodded, relieved at his words. He took a few more moments of pondering, watching the anticipation grow in the kids as they chattered about exactly what they’d do.

“Sixer? Is that a no? We can stop them now-”

“No. No…I’d like to.”

Stan beamed, giving him another nudge. “Great!” He stood up with a groan, stretching out before turning to the kids with his hands on his hips. “Oi, you two.”

The twins paused their nattering to stare up at the older pair, though Ford seemed equally perplexed.

“As much as you’re now excited, we can think up how we’d go about doing that another time. We just got back.” He squatted down, arms outstretched. “So get back here, you two! I’m not done with you yet.” He gave a fake sniffle. “How am I going to deal out at sea with so little hugs?”

Ford rolled his eyes, but he waited patiently until the kids got closer before standing in front of Stan in a sudden movement and embracing the twins first, much to their surprise and amusement.

“Oi!”

Ford glanced over his shoulder with a smirk at the pout he was receiving. “What?” He could feel the kids giggling against him, small hands tight in his coat as he tried to play innocently to Stan.

“You _stole_ my hugs.”

“Learnt from the best.”

Stan’s pout turned into a grin, arms widening to get all three of them as he flopped forward. “Oh yeah?”

“Stan! I’m going to fall- Stan!”

* * *

“This is ridiculous.” Ford stared at himself in the mirror, a small reproachful glare levelled at himself as he stood there.

He could hear the crowd chattering and excited outside the bathroom window, gathering ready for the ‘Mystery Family’s production’ as Soos had called it. He almost rolled his eyes at the memory, mouth tweaking upwards slightly in amusement. It had been a quick panicked compromise from Stan after Soos had started welling up at being called an honorary ‘Pines’.

_Stan’s son is an odd one_ , Ford shook his head good-naturedly, humming softly to himself. _He fits right in._

The peaceful feeling vanished again as a whoop of laughter found its way to him, bouncing up the walls and reverberating into the room.

His glare returned as his hands shook in trepidation and his stomach twisted itself into self-conscious knots. Part of him was excited, he’d actually been eager a little while ago. It was the thought of sharing one of their experiences out on the open water in a different way that really sparked his interest. As much as he loved telling their stories, or watching Stan regale them, sometimes in retelling they lost some of the spark they’d had the first time. But then the closer and closer it had got to show time, the more and more the nerves ate away at his eagerness. More the insidious voice told him that he would make a fool of himself, that everyone was _waiting_ for him to make a fool of himself.

“You stopped Bill.” The words came out without much thought, his eyes widening before they became steel again, nodding to the words. “You and your family stopped the _apocalypse_. You can go out there and join them in a singsong. It’s not _that_ hard.”

He sniffed loudly, spinning from the bathroom mirror and making his way downstairs without another thought. Though that wasn’t strictly true, he just crushed all the thoughts before they could form into anything cohesive and stall him further, focusing instead to fill his head with the lyrics of the shanty they’d be singing soon, going louder as and when he needed to drown out the voices vying for his attention.

_“Easy Sixer, this is all meant be good fun, nothing more, nothing less.”_

A voice slipped through the cracks, his foot hovering over another step. He closed his eyes for a second, glad his mind had for once decided to be kind to him, forgoing his own panicked thoughts to cut through with the one voice that had so far kept him afloat.

_“Don’t get jumpy if no one joins in on the first verse, who knows if any of them know this one, you know? I’ll do what I can to teach them.”_

Stan had checked up on him on more than one occasion when the kids and Soos had overwhelmed him with their plans for the day.

He could hear him now actually, riling up the forming crowd and making them more vocal. Of course Stan would be the one doing that. He had half a mind to leave him to it.

_They love Stan._

He gulped, the voice slipping back to his own instead of Stan’s calming tones. His own voice spoke of despondence. None of the townspeople really knew him all that well, they knew Stan, they _loved_ Stan, he’d seen as much when Stan’s memories were gone. And now, there they were all having a fun time, without him-

_I should just go back upstairs._

Ford locked his feet into the floor, feeling more than hearing another of Stan’s signature booming peals of laughter.

Stan was looking forward to this, both of them doing this.

He couldn’t do it on his own.

_“Besides, I’ll be right there beside you- singing off key to make you sound better, of course.”_

Ford smiled at the jovial words, Stan’s dampening his own again.

“Grunkle Ford- there you are! Everyone’s waiting!”

Ford blinked as Dipper appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He forced his nerves into the background where they fizzed and sparked, diminished by Stan’s words that he ran on loop in his mind. He smiled at his great nephew in what he hoped was a genuine way. “They seem fairly happy, what with Stan keeping them entertained.”

Dipper rolled his eyes, grabbing on to Ford’s hand once he was within reaching distance. “They’re here to see both of you, Grunkle Ford, they want to make sure both their town heroes have come home safe and sound.”

“Oh.” _Oh_. Ford felt another layer of nerves dissipate as he was hurried along, the small hand in his grounding him and reminding him that these were all friends, many who hadn’t actually heard from them since they’d left port.

It didn’t stop him from letting Stan’s voice seep further in, cementing his relaxation as they scurried towards the event.

_“No, but, seriously. Just have fun, Ford. We’re home, everyone’s missed us. I guarantee it’ll be as fun, if not more fun, than the spontaneous singsong with those fishermen.”_

He could hear them all louder now, Stan included as Dipper dragged him stumbling towards the door. They were all waiting, all ready and excited and slowly he could feel that buzz slipping into him, replacing the fear and the apprehension with the soft reassurance that no one expected more that he could give.

_“…And if it’s not, then we’ll pull the plug early and get to the catching up with everyone quicker, that’s all.”_

“There he is! The man of the hour, was telling our friends here you must have lost your voice again!”

Ford cocked an eyebrow at him, the mischievous glint to his brother’s eye amusing if not troublesome. “Stan? You know, you don’t have to make up tales, we’ve been through enough adventures to have stories for a lifetime.”

“Me? Make up stories?” Stan beamed as Ford shook his head, obviously relieved that he wasn’t displaying any of his usual nervous ticks. “OK, maybe I have been known- once or twice to come up with a tall tale.” A mutter of tickled disbelief ran through the settling crowd. “OK, more than that, but can you blame me? The Mystery Shack needed some help – but, anyway! This is not one of them!”

Ford hummed, nodding slowly. “Well, maybe you didn’t make it up.” He heard one of Mabel’s friends gasp, already nudging her for the full story, taking the movement as an agreement that the story was true. He bit his lip for a second, watching Mabel’s eyes grow to the size of dinner plates, before he finally gave in with a grin. “But I’m sure the fairy tales you were reading on the way home were sure helpful.”

A loud deep shout echoed from one of Mabel’s friends. Ford still wasn’t used to her voice, flinching slightly at the bellow. “I knew I’d heard that story before!”

“Just get on with it and stop spoiling my fun, Sixer!” Stan dragged him into the centre of the small ring, feeling him stiffen up slightly at the notion. He leant in close with a whisper. “Hey, it’ll be fine, remember? I’ve got your back.”

“Yeah, let’s do this.” Ford shot him a wobbly smile, almost falling with the sudden heavy thump he received in response.

“That’s the spirit!”

Ford took a deep breath, closing his eyes as the crowd quietened down. He took a second to centre himself, the distinct lack of waves crashing disconcerting after all this time. So he waited, let himself think of them, taste the briny air and pretend that he was back on the Stan’O’War II singing to the open water as they sailed on a peaceful sunny day.

“Oh, we’d be al-right, if the wind was in our sails~”

He started the song, a silence in the air around them. There were no gulls to join the morning chorus, no drumbeat of waves slapping the deck to keep him company and just for a moment, the peaceful air broke, the wave flooding in as he stared at shocked faces, all of them speechless as they watched him.

“Oh, we’d be al-right, if the wind was in our sails~”

The second line burst out of him with an almost humorous edge to it, the words bubbles of laughter as the wave crested and fell again, Stan making him smile fondly, as he joined in, dancing around him to snap the crowd out of their sudden hush.

And within a few seconds, the third line spotted a few more wobbling voices, not quite harmonious but still a community effort that Ford beamed at, hands coming up to join Stan in riling up the crowd, just like they had in the fishing village only a few months before. It had been easier then, strangers they would never meet again, a passing encounter that could never be relived- or so he had thought. Now surrounded by friends, it was all that much sweeter, as the chorus rolled in and the birds flew from the trees against the sounds of a town making merry.

“And we’d row the old chariot along~”

Mabel was dancing with her friends more than singing, the three girls skipping in amongst the legs of the crowd to follow Stan as he walked the inner edge. Dipper seemed conflicted as he stood there, debating following suit or sticking to the teenagers as he sang along with Ford. He didn’t get much of a choice though as Stan made another circuit, sweeping him up on to his shoulder as a mascot- ‘come on kid, let’s get this crowd really going!’, though Dipper didn’t seem to mind past the squeak of concern before he joined in with Stan’s shouts for a few rounds until Stan finally let him back down.

The second verse started and Ford got into it, arms raising as he sung the first line and gleefully beamed as the crowd joined in with the second, his arms sweeping down, almost conducting them.

“That’s it, Sixer!”

“Woo! Go Mr Pines!”

Ford shook his head at Wendy, somehow acting like she was at a concert, though Stan seemed to find it more than amusing as he ruffled her hair.

Another chorus rang through, stronger and more in tune than the first as any hesitance vanished from the last few townspeople. It grew in a swell of noise, the wind carrying it amongst the trees for them and reverberating it back louder than before- or perhaps something in the trees had joined in, another voice unable to resist all the life that stood on the outskirts. Ford didn’t know and surprisingly found he didn’t really care in that moment, too caught in the moment to investigate.

The waves grew still again, the din vanishing as they waited for their next round.

Ford was only too happy to oblige.

“Well, a night on the town wouldn’t do us any harm~”

A loud whoop sounded from in front of him, Stan popping into his view to point at him. “I’ll hold you to that, bro!” Another round of raucous titters sparking at his interruption, though Ford took it in stride and continued with only a quick retort. “Hah! A certain drunken sailor’s hangover might say otherwise! - Well, a night on the town-”

The song continued, cresting and breaking with every verse, small additions here and there as friends piped up, unable to resist and harmonies of voices that sung often mixing with those that barely sang at all but still tried their best all the same.

“Oh, We’d be al-right if the wind be in our sails~”

Ford could feel the end drawing near, a soft sadness looming at the thought of stopping the jovial atmosphere. His mind clicked away as he sung, wondering if he should start another song straight after, keep everything going until the sun dropped low behind the tree line and everyone was out of energy. A day to remember, a night of calm and gentle breezes after a whirlwind day of festivities.

“Oh, We’d be al-right-”

And just like that it hit him.

Everything slowed down. He could feel himself still singing, could see the laughter and sheer glee on everyone’s faces but it seemed like everything had slowed to a crawl.

They were all here. Old friends and new, the people that meant everything, the only ones that knew what happened that summer, all bundled up, _safe_ and _happy_.

Here they were, after everything they had been through together-

Out the other side and maybe a little worse for wear but still _breathing_ , still _living_ , still sharing moments and lifetimes-

Who could ask for more?

All the ‘what ifs’ and ‘should have/could have beens’ all swept away by the rising tide that as long as they kept sailing, kept moving forward together then nothing would get in their way. They could achieve anything.

They _had_ achieved everything.

His eyes trailed over the faces. His old friend Fiddleford, more straight backed and well fed than he had last seen him. Soos, now running the business in his father’s footsteps and doing things Stan had never dreamed up. The kids who had lived and fought through an apocalypse, all stronger and wiser but still kids, still able to grow at their own pace instead of forced too young to be ready for things they should never have had to go through. Somehow pulling each other out of the ashes, looking after each other and growing together.

Mabel, still bright eyed and creative, her sweater a mix of blues and greens that made Ford wonder if she was the tide pulling them altogether as she slipped around the circle in a dizzying spin. Dipper, the anchor beside him, grounding him as he stayed unmoving, watching everything with his insatiable curiosity, still unwavering by all the things that they had seen, not hiding from the horrors but facing them for the wonders that happened in between.

And then there was Stan, his eyes locked on to him last. Stan who was staring back at him with that smile that had vanished from his life for forty years, one that if the summer had ended differently would never have returned. The sun and the storm all rolled into one- there it was in all its glory. A swell of pride, affection and mischief that was so entirely _Stan_.

Stood side by side again and ready to sail wherever the wind took them, just like they’d always said.

A future that he’d thought lost to him long ago, now already in full swing with more adventures on the horizon and a place they could call home to come back to when each quest ended.

Ford blinked, the world shifting back to full swing, his ears popped and the sounds of joy frothed up again as Stan jigged towards him.

“We’d be al-right if the wind be in our sails~”

“And we’d all hang on behind~”

Ford’s last line ended to an uproarious cheer. He chuckled, watching Stan give an exaggerated bow close to him, sweeping his arm around the crowd until he was close enough to Ford and gestured for him to do the same. The cheering grew louder as Ford shook his head and bowed low, listening to Stan’s laughter and encouragements.

“See? What did I tell ya, Mabel? Sometimes you _can_ believe me, you know!”

“You had no evidence! Now I have it on camera!”

“Wait, wha-” Ford didn’t have a chance to check up on that as a broad arm grabbed him round the shoulders, a warm one-armed hug that vibrated with amusement.

“Well, that was definitely a performance! I really do think Dipper has a point, I could make a fortune.”

Ford rolled his eyes, side eyeing him. “We don’t need the money, Stan.”

“Money is money, we always need it.” Stan huffed before his face grew softer. “So? Good fun?”

“Yeah, very fun.”

“Then that’s what matters.”

Ford waited for more but Stan seemed content with that, eyes trailing over the crowd much as his own had a few moments before. Though it was loud and slightly chaotic, it felt oddly peaceful where they stood, slap bang in the eye of the storm, the reason behind all the joy and cheer around them.

He didn’t know what Stan was thinking as his eyes scanned around, but he gave a happy hum beside him, a small nod, satisfied with whatever he was seeing.

Ford followed suit, giving a small noise of approval in response. The kids started singing other songs they’d taught them, getting the crowd to join in again, another round of applause and cheer going out as the merriment continued, the two old men watching quietly, still at the heart of the festivities but in their own little world.

“Heh. We really will be alright, won’t we?”

“What was that, Poindexter?” Stan nudged his shoulder, looking over at him expectantly.

Ford shook his head with a wry grin. He gripped his brother’s shoulder in another quick hug before dragging him over to the ragtag band of friends and family they’d amassed, back into the life of the party.

“Nothing, Knucklehead. Nothing at all.”

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Writing this was so soothing oh my gosh. I kept grinning away to myself. Tiny related drabble will come up soon that I had to reference in this XD somewhen soon.


End file.
